OAKLAND – As he sat by his locker stall, Alfonzo McKinnie appeared relaxed. Like a man comfortable with his surroundings. Like a man embracing the present. Like feeling secure with his future.

On the surface, it would appear that traces back to a decision the Warriors made that could significantly determine his future. The Warriors did not just decline to match Patrick McCaw’s two-year, $6 million offer sheet with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Warriors did so partly because they have felt encouraged with McKinnie’s emergence as a training camp invitee to a reserve wing player.

McKinnie insisted that does not explain his relaxed state of mind, though. After all, McKinnie’s contract does not become guaranteed until Jan. 10, leaving these next eight days open to other scenarios that technically could abruptly halt his first season with the Warriors.

“It ain’t official until it’s official,” McKinnie said.

Instead, McKinnie’s demeanor traces back to his mindset that he believed became instrumental in adapting to various circumstances. Such examples: on how to become a rotation player on a team that won three NBA championships in the past four years, how to please the Warriors despite recent shooting struggles and how to process how McCaw’s future indirectly influenced his.

“I was trying not to think about the whole situation. It can turn into somewhat of a distraction,” McKinnie said. “It’s a situation I’m in being on a non-guaranteed [deal]. I tried to think about the basketball part of it and thinking about me. Just trying to keep learning every day.”

The Warriors liked how McKinnie has learned. The Warriors (25-13) enter Thursday’s game against the Houston Rockets (21-15) at Oracle Arena with McKinnie averaging 5.4 points while shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 37 percent from 3-point range along with 3.8 rebounds.

Warriors general manager Bob Myers may have cited a “a combination of reasons” and a “confluence of factors” that explained the team’s decision not to match McCaw’s offer sheet two years after purchasing his draft rights with the No. 38 pick from Milwaukee. Those included the Warriors’ want to keep their 15th roster spot open for another center and the team’s reluctance to spend $11 million in luxury taxes on a third-year player that showed mixed progress with his development. Another reason centered on McKinnie. So much that Myers revealed that unnamed coaches and teammates vouched for the front office to keep him.

“We didn’t plan for him. He just plays that spot with Pat waiting. So credit to him,” Myers said of McKinnie. “He’s been good for us. We like his length. We like his abilities and his rebounding. He’s still working his way in and still figuring out a consistent spot for him. But he’s proven. His teammates have embraced him. That’s all a factor.”

The Warriors kept that view on McKinnie despite experiencing speedbumps in the past month. After missing nine games with a sore left foot, McKinnie’s numbers have regressed in points per game (4.3), shooting percentage (39.7 percent) and 3-point shooting (21.7). McKinnie has insisted he has felt fully healthy and that nothing has changed with his consistent shooting routine and mechanics.

“Athletically, what he brings stands out even among other players with the athleticism and bounce and energy,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “As he continues to play, his skill improves. He’s a better shooter now than he was a year ago. A lot of guys stayed in this league by improving their shooting as they have gotten older. It’ll be key for Alfonzo as he continues to work on that shot.”

Still, McKinnie did not look or sound concerned about that trend. The Warriors like that he has remained just as aggressive with rebounding (3.7) and on defense.

“Even though I’ve been struggling shooting, I can come in and do other stuff. I can rebound the ball and defend. Those are things that got me here.,” McKinnie said. “If there’s one thing I’m not doing right. I’ll revert to something else. Whatever else it is I can do to help. I’m not just looking at myself as a shooter. People go through slumps. You always come out of it. I’ve been still working and putting in the same work.”

Because of that work, McKinnie’s future appears cemented with the Warriors for the rest of this season. He has refused to think that way, though. After going undrafted from Wisconsin-Green Bay, McKinnie played overseas in Luxembourg and Mexico (2015-16). He played for G-League teams with the Chicago Bulls (2016-17) and Toronto Raptors (2017-18) before staying with the latter team on a non-guaranteed deal.

Therefore, McKinnie remains aware how things can change for better and for worse without a moment’s notice.

“I already figured out what you got to do and stick to the basketball thing,” McKinnie said. “Only worry about the things you can control. I worry about the basketball aspect of it. Let management do what they do. Hopefully it’s all in my favor. I always had been somebody that don’t stress over stuff I have no control over. I have no control over what management does or what decisions they make. I can only control and how hard I play.”